


The Stars Above

by rock_lee



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 - Fandom
Genre: Comfort, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 14:19:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3329408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rock_lee/pseuds/rock_lee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard is constantly reminded of her death and she calls upon her best friend for comfort. </p><p>| shakarian / me2 pre-relationship |</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stars Above

Garrus was bad at doing as he was told. He was a bad turian and he knew it. Whenever Shepard gave an order, he would follow through with it not only because it was given to him by his Commander, but it was in the interest of his best friend, Jane Shepard.

Although he was horrible at following commands, he usually did his best.

"Get some actual sleep," he recalled her saying, "and stop tinkering with the stupid gun. It's calibrated enough for the night."

Sitting awake in his cot, Garrus once more reprehended himself for failing to follow orders. Maybe it was because of all those years of purposely disobeying his father that turned him into this rebel to rules.

Or maybe it was because the rocket he took to the face messed with more than just his looks...

As he stared at the dark ceiling and counting the seconds that ticked by, he thought of his constant need to disobey.

In all honesty, hanging around Shepard only made him a worse turian than before. Not only did he not follow rules, but he sometimes found himself going out of the way to break them. What happened to the cautious C-Sec officer he once was?  
Oh yeah, he got stuck on Omega.

His omni-tool let out an annoying ping, breaking him from his train of thought. Glad for a distraction, he opened the message.

 **TO:** _VAKARIAN, G. GUNNERY OFFICER_  
 **FROM:** _SHEPARD, J. COMMANDER_  
 **SUBJECT:** _you awake?_  
 **MESSAGE:** _hey vakarian. if you're awake, would you mind coming up to my cabin with a glass of water?_  
 _bring one of your fancy turian pillows too_  
 **SENT:** 11:39 G.S.T  
  
He tilted his head curiously, clicking his good mandible in confusion.

Well, this was an order he wouldn't go infringing on.

* * *

  
When he did press the green lock on her door, he was surprised at the silence of the room. It was dark, the only light coming from the empty blue fish tank. He was expecting Shepard to be at least on her terminal or something, but he couldn't see her.  
  
"Shep? You in here?" He called into the quiet. He heard a faint sigh as he stepped into the room, the entrance sealing up behind him. Following the sound, he stepped down the stairs and to the bundle on the bed. "Is this where the emergency message was sent from?"  
  
"Yes," she grumbled. "Please tell me you brought water."  
  
He trilled in humor as she stuck one of those soft, fleshy human arms into the air, making grabbing motions with the hand that has too many fingers. Placing the glass in her hand, he watched in amusement as she emerged from the cocoon of blankets. The red human fringe she had was tangled and stuck up at odd angles. If she wasn't a dangerous madwoman and his commander, he would have laughed. The way she drained the liquid also amused him.  
  
"Thanks Garrus," she murmured, slipping right back under the sheets.  
  
He chortled. "You're welcome Shepard. Any particular reason you needed my fancy turian pillow?" She didn't speak for a moment, instead turning from her side to her back. She stared up at the window of stars above her bed and he barely caught the shiver that ran down her body.  
  
"Come sleep with me tonight."  
  
He went rigid immediately. "S-Shep-"  
  
"Not like that," she retorted, turning those sharp eyes to him. "Just like... A sleepover. Tell me turians know what sleepovers are."  
  
He shuffled a bit, not one bit familiar with the human activity. Shepard signed, sitting up again and patting the space of the bed she wasn't occupying. "Get your spiky alien butt over here."  
  
Now this order... He didn't know what to do with this order.  
  
"Garrus," she called. Was she pleading? "Please come lay down with me."  
  
Not even he could pretend he wasn't effected by the frightened tone of her voice. He carefully laid on the uncomfortable human mattress, surprised at how quickly it molded to him. Placing the pillow down and shoving the extra humans one off, he eased himself down onto his side almost painfully. "What's this about Shep?"  
  
She waited until he was situated before dropping back down into the fluffy bed.  
  
"You know how I died, right?"  
  
He didn't respond. How could he forget? He drove himself mad with grief after he heard the news. He sent himself to Omega to die because of it.  
  
"The stars..." She swept a hand to the ceilings window before dropping it to the blankets. The blazing stars stared voidlessly back through the inky blue space. "It's all I remember seeing before I died. That and 'I can't breath'."  
  
He wanted to reach out and hold her hand. He knew his Commander - his best friend - hated remembering how she died. He wanted to comfort her. "Opening my eyes everytime I wake up and seeing that just.... I imagine I'm still out there. Spaced. Dying. Not breathing-"  
  
He stopped her with his hand, grasping the one that had dropped onto the top of the blankets. He could hear the tears in her voice. The slight wobble and strangled hiccup in her throat. He didn't mention it, just squeezed her too-many-fingers.  
  
"I won't let you die again Shepard. I have your six, remember?"  
  
Shakily, a genuine laugh left her and she rolled, burying her face into his keel bone, grasping his fingers back.  
  
"You're the best person in this entire galaxy," she spoke, tucking her head closer. He held back the grunt of surprise, instead tucking his arm around her waist. He knew she was hiding the tears that glistened in her eyes. She was strong.  
  
She was Commander Jane Shepard, hero of the Citadel, Saren's destroyer and so much more.  
  
She was the best person in the entire galaxy and he would _never_ let her forget it.


End file.
